7th Nov 2007 11:29
Imperial Tobacco Group PLC07 November 2007 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITEDSTATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN OR THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA. Approval by the CNMV of offer by Imperial Tobacco Group PLC for Altadis, S.A. Imperial Tobacco Group PLC ("Imperial Tobacco") today announces the approval ofits all cash offer (the "Offer") for the entire issued share capital of Altadis,S.A. ("Altadis") by the Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores ("CNMV"), theSpanish Securities and Exchange Commission. THE OFFER The Offer, which was announced on 18 July 2007, is €50 per Altadis share. In summary, the Offer is subject to the fulfilment of the following conditions: • 80% of the share capital of Altadis being tendered in acceptance of the Offer; and • Altadis' shareholders resolving to amend Altadis' bye-laws at an extraordinary general meeting to remove the limitation on the number of votes that Altadis' shareholders can cast at a general meeting of shareholders (the "Voting Restriction"). Imperial Tobacco reserves the right, where legally able, to waive any conditionto the Offer in whole or in part. The full terms and conditions of the Offer areset out in Imperial Tobacco's offer document dated 30 October 2007. A copy ofImperial Tobacco's offer document, together with a summary, will be availablefor inspection on Imperial Tobacco's website (www.imperial-tobacco.com) onThursday, 8 November 2007. TIMETABLE The acceptance period for the Offer will commence on 12 November 2007 and isexpected to close on 11 January 2008. Altadis has agreed to convene an extraordinary general meeting of itsshareholders in relation to the removal of the Voting Restriction as soon asreasonably practicable and by no later than 10 days after the date on which theacceptance period for the Offer commences. Under Spanish law, there must be aminimum period of one month between the date on which the meeting is convenedand the date of the meeting. Enquiries Imperial TobaccoAlex Parsons (Group Media Relations Manager) Tel: +44 (0) 7967 467241Simon Evans (Group Press Officer) Tel: +44 (0) 7967 467684John Nelson-Smith (Investor Relations Manager) Tel: +44 (0) 7919 391866 Citi Tel: +44 (0) 20 7986 4000(lead financial adviser to Imperial Tobacco)Ian Carnegie-BrownIan HartMark Todd Manuel Falco Tel: +34 (0) 91 538 4411 Hoare Govett Tel: +44 (0) 20 7678 8000(joint corporate broker to Imperial Tobacco)Hugo FisherPaul Nicholls Lehman Brothers Tel: +44 (0) 20 7102 1000(financial adviser to Imperial Tobacco)Ludovico del BalzoAdrian Fisk Morgan Stanley Tel: +44 (0) 20 7425 5000(financial adviser and jointcorporate broker to Imperial Tobacco)Gavin MacdonaldPaul Baker Banco Santander Tel: +34 (0) 91 289 3371(financial adviser to Imperial Tobacco)Filipe Ribeiro-FerreiraGeorg Orssich Citi, Hoare Govett Limited, Lehman Brothers Europe Limited, Morgan Stanley & Co.International Limited and Banco Santander, which are authorised and regulated inthe United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, are acting exclusivelyfor Imperial Tobacco and no one else in relation to the matters referred to inthis announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than ImperialTobacco for providing the protections afforded to clients of Citi, Hoare GovettLimited, Lehman Brothers Europe Limited, Morgan Stanley & Co. InternationalLimited and Banco Santander respectively nor for providing advice in relation tothese matters, the content of this announcement or any matter referred to in it. Copies of Imperial Tobacco's announcements are available on its website:www.imperial-tobacco.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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